Apparatus for forming plaques



Oct. 27, 1959 w. JAMES APPARATUS FOR FORMING PLAQUES 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 13, 1956 INVENTOR. WILBERT JAMES W AIY'JR/VE) Oct. 27, 1959 w. JAMES 2,909,805

APPARATUS FOR FORMING PLAQUES Filed Sept. 15, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. WILBERT JAMES BY Oct. 27, 1959 w. JAMES APPARATUS FOR FORMING PLAQUES 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 13, 1956 IN V EN TOR.

JAMES Arrmlvzy WILBERT BY United States Patenti APPARATUS FOR FORMING PLAQUES Wilbert James, New York, N.Y. I

Application September 13, 1956, Serial No. 609,735

' 1 Claim. (Cl. 18-51) -the mold shown in the application.

A more specific object is to provide a one-piece mold, so designed as to produce an attractive plaque made of plaster of Paris or similar material, which may be made swiftly and easily and without the requirement of special skill on the part of the user and may, further, be ornamentally finished, as for example by being given a metallic coating.

Another object is to provide a novel means for forming plaques of the character described, which will be so designed as to insure to the maximum extent the making of a plaque in a professional manner.

Still another object is to so design the mold used in forming the plaque as to permit its manufacture at a very low cost, thereby'to in turn permit a large number of molds of different ornamental shapes and designs to be purchased by one engaged in the manufacture of plaques, at a low cost.

A further object of importance is to provide, in a modification of the invention, means for varying the ornamental configuration and surface ornamentation of the plaque, within a wide range of designs without, however, requiring more than one basic mold. In carrying out this object, the invention includes mold liners capable of being fitted in superposed relation within the basic mold, in an arrangement such that various liners may be selectively employed with each other, to produce a large number of different ornamental plaque shapes while holding to a minimum the number of liners used.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, and to the appended claim in which the various novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure: I i

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a plaque made according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on line 22 of Fig. 1.

,Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the mold used in making the plaque shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged, detail sectional view on line 44 of Fig. 3. I

Fig. 5 -is a fragmentary bottom plan view, on the same scale as Fig. 4, showing the mold as seen from the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view through the mold, during the ice step of forming an impression in a quantity of clay deposited in the lower portion of the mold.

Fig. 7 is a view like Fig. 6 in which plaster of Paris or other quickly settable material has been poured into the mold over the clay impression.

Fig. 8 is an exploded sectional view on the same cutting plane as Figs. 6 and 7, in which the mold has been inverted to release the completed plaque and impression.

Fig. 9 is a front elevational view of a plaque having a different ornamental shape.

Fig. 10 is a front elevational view of a plaque having still another ornamental shape.

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary, exploded perspective view showing a plurality of lines associated with the basic mold to vary the design of the ornamental border of the plaque.

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the liners seated in the mold with the clay and plaster of Paris filling the mold.

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary, front elevational view of a plaque made by use of the molds of Figs. 11 and 12.

Referring to the drawings in detail, in Figs. 1 and 2 there is shown a plaque generally designated 10 made in accordance with the present invention. As will be noted, the illustrated plaque includes a body 12 having a flat back surface 14 and a slightly concave front surface or face 16 on which is centrally formed, in relief, the impression of an infants hand 18. On the face 16 there is provided a peripheral, ornamental border 20, spaced inwardly a short distance from the marginal edge 22 of the plaque.

In the illustrated example, the border 20 is of a design simulating bamboo, the bamboo being seemingly embedded for substantially half its thickness in the surface of the face 16 of the plaque.

As will be presently made apparent, the particular ornamental design for the border can be varied as desired, that shown in Fig. 1 being merely illustrative of an almost limitless number of borders that could be provided. Further, although the impression of a hand is shown, obviously one may desire to make an impression of the infants foot.

Further, as shown in Fig. l, the plaque is so designed as to have a rhomboidal or diamond shape, with the plaque being suspendable from a wall surface by means of a suspension loop 24 embedded in the back surface 14 of the body 12 adjacent one corner of the body. By location of the suspension loop medially between adjacent corners of the body, the plaque would have its top and bottom edgeshorizontally disposed and its side edges vertically disposed so as to have a square configuration, and in this event the hand print would not extend diagonally of the plaque in the manner shown in Fig. 1.-

. Thus, by use of a single mold, plaques could be made in either diamond or rectangular shapes, whichever is desired.

The mold used in making the plaque shown in Fig. 1 is illustrated per se in Figs. 3-5 and has been designated 26. The mold is of the open center type, although it could have a closed center portion, that is, it could be formed with a bottom in the rectangular center mold cavity 28 thereof.

The mold may be formed of a single piece of material, and could be metal, plastic, or any other suitable material. The center cavity 28 in the illustrated example, but not necessarily, is bounded by an inner mold frame 30, relatively low in height, the inner wall of said frame being inclined slightly from the vertical as shown in Fig. 4, in a direction such as to flare the mold cavity 28 in an upward direction.

An outer mold frame 32 extends a substantial distance above the top edge of the inner mold frame, and

u at its upper edge is preferably formed with an outward- 1y directed peripheral flange or lip 34. Between the top edges of the inner and outer mold frames, the inner wall 36 of the outer mold frame is inclined slight ly from the vertical, in substantially parallelism with the Wall of cavity 23. At the base of inner wall 36 there is formed an internal, upwardly facing shoulder '33 bounding a continuous channel 40 defined by a connecting portion 42 that is integrally connected between the lower edge of the outer frame and the midwidth portion of the inner frame 36.

Referring to Fig. 3, it is seen that channel 49 is ornamentally shaped in such a manner that when the moldable material is poured into the same and subsequently sets, there will be defined the raised, bamboo-simulating border 2i).

Referring now to Figs. 68, as a first step the mold is laid upon a flat supporting surface S. Then, a quantity of clay C or other readily moldable, soft material is deposited in the inner mold cavity 23, completely filling said cavity. The top surface of the quantity of clay can be l ft wholly flat, that is, in a plane common to that of the top edge of the frame 34). Alternatively, and as shown, the top surface of the clay can be slightly convexed, and this will have the result, as will be presently made apparent, of forming the slightly concave face 16 in the completed plaque.

As a next step, the infants hand H is pressed into the top surface of the clay, to an extent sufiicient to make a full, clear impression of the hand.

At this point, it will be noted that any means em ployed in the molding art to prevent the materials from sticking to the frame or to the hand will obviously be employed, as for example, the hand may be moistened slightly, and the inclined inner surface of the frame may be coated with a film such as to prevent the clay from adhering thereto.

In any event, when the hand is removed, the mold is filled fully to the top edge of the outer frame 32 with plaster of Paris P or other quickly settable, inexpensive material of which the completed plaque is to be formed. The plaster, when deposited in the mold, is in a fully fluid state, and hence fills the impression 43 made by the hand H in the surface of the clay C. Further, the plaster fills the channel and is in full contact with the inclined inner wall 36 of outer frame 32.

When the plaster has hardened, the mold may be inverted as shown in Fig. 8 and is lifted off the clay C and plaster P. The clay separates from the mold and is in turn separated from the plaster, so that there results the completed plaque 10. This would preferably be ornamentally surfaced in any desired manner, as for example by being bronzed or otherwise finished with an attractive, easily polished metallic coating.

While the plaster is still in a fluid state, the suspension loop 24 is inserted therein. The suspension loop could if desired be merely a piece of picture wire, bent to a U-shape, with the legs thereof being inserted in the back surface 14 while the plaque is still fluid. This will cause the suspension loop to be securely embedded in the plaque when the plaque has fully hardened.

The ornamental configuration can be varied almost without limitation. As two examples of ornamental shapes that could be used, there are shown in Figures 9 and 10, respectively, a plaque 10 of circular outer configuration, and a plaque 10 of a heart-shaped outer configuration. Further, the borders 20 20 of the plaques can be varied if desired and as shown in Fig.

9, plaque 10 may have at one or more locations on border 2% a small heart design 21?.

In making the plaque of Figs. 9 and 10 there would of course be used specially shaped, complementary molds and should one be engaged in the business of making and selling plaques of the type illustrated and All described, he may maintain a full set of molds of different designs, so that the purchasers may choose that design which they particularly favor.

In Figs. ll and 12 there is shown a means for utilizing a single basic mold 26 in' a manner such as to vary, within a wide range of selections, the ornamental borders of plaques made therein. The basic mold 26 shown in Figs. 11 and 12 is identical to that of the first form, although it could, of course, be shaped circularly or otherwise. Thus, used alone as in Figs. 6-8, it will permit the manufacture of a plaque such as shown in Fig. 1.

If it is desired to vary the border design, one places in the mold 26 a planiform, rectangular main liner 44. This is provided, at regularly spaced locations through its full periphery, with small apertures 46.

An auxiliary liner 43 includes a flat body portion 5 integral or otherwise rigid at its underside with depending pins 52 spaced correspondingly to and removabl-y insertable through apertures 46. The auxiliary liner is of an overall width slightly less than main liner 44, and :has a continuous rib medially between its opposite edges designated by the reference numeral 54, said rib being ornamentally surfaced as, for example, through the pro vision of small, circular indentations 56 closely spaced through the full circumference .of the auxiliary liner.

The main liner is of a width such that it may be inserted in the basic mold 26 with the outer edge of the main liner seating on the shoulder 38 and the inner edge seating on, the upper edge of the inner mold cavity 28.

This closes the channel 40, so that the completed plaque will not have the border design defined by the channel 40.v

A selected auxiliary liner 48 is now supported upon the main liner 44 in the manner shown in Fig. 12, and the mold is now ready for use. The clay C is deposited in the inner mold cavity to an extent such as to register with the top surface of the main liner 44. The impression 43 is now formed in the clay in the manner as shown in Fig. 6, after which the plaster P is poured into th mold fully to the top thereof. The plaster flows about theauxiliary and main liners, and hence when the plaque is completed and removed, it will have an ornamental border different from that of the basic mold, and complementing the auxiliary and main liners. In the illustrated example, a plaque 10 made by use of the auxiliary and main liners illustrated in Figs. 11 and 12 would have an ornamental border 20 fashioned with a continuous groove 58, the bottom surface of said groove having formed thereon small, rounded, ornamental projections .60, resulting from the plaster flowing into the indentations 56.

Obviously, the auxiliary liner can have any desired ornamental surface design and instead of a rib 54, might have a groove so that the completed plaque would have a rib as a border. Any other designs can also be employed.

It will be apparent that when the basic mold 26 is used, one can select any of a large number of auxiliary liners to be supported in the main liner 44, so that at a very low cost, an almost limitless number of variations in border designs is achieved. Particularly when large scale pro ductien, a a Wide range o ehqi es b t e pm a er a e desired, the use of selected liners represents a considerable saving while at the same time allowing the previously mentioned wide selection of border designs,

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise construction herein disclosed and that various changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent A device for forming plaques comprising an inner frame bounding a center mold cavity in which may be deposited a first material capable of receiving an impression, an outer mold frame bounding and spaced outwardly from the inner frame and rising to a height greater than that of the inner frame for receiving a fluid, settable second material of which the plaque is to be formed, thus to mold the plaque responsive to filling of the outer frame with the second material, with said second material overlying the first material in contact therewith and flowing into said impression, said inner and outer frames including means for forming a border design on the plaque, said means including a connector portion extending between and connecting the respective frames, said connector portion having a channel therealong, the outer frame having. an internal shoulder spaced downwardly from the top edge of the outer frame in the plane of the top edge of the inner frame, a main liner seated on said shoulder and on the top edge of the inner frame to cover the channel, and an auxiliary liner removably supported on the main liner to form a border design in the completed plaque, the main liner having spaced apertures, the auxiliary liner having pins removably engaging in said apertures, the auxiliary liner having an ornamentally configured surface exposed for contact with the second material to provide said border design.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,186,348 Strayer June 6, 1916 1,653,835 Benaglia Dec. 27, 1927 1,969,083 Lawson Aug. 7, 1934 2,333,481 Limmer Nov. 2, 1943 2,611,170 Theis Sept. 23, 1952 

